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Annuals

Description:

Annuals
Be He Me
(Ace Fu)
Released: October 1, 2006

***PRESS RELEASE***
Annuals are as close as possible to being a family without sharing the same DNA. Long-time friends Adam Baker (Singer/Songwriter), Kenny Florence (Guitar), and Mike Robinson (Bass) have been in bands together since they were children, about 7 years now. In the last few years, Zack Oden (Drums/Guitar), Anna Spence (Piano/Synth), and Nick Radford (Drums), have joined the vast lineup.

As young as the band is (topping out at around 22 yrs old), Annuals draws influences from a diverse range of artists such as Mike Patton, Brian Wilson, Paul Simon, Radiohead, the Beatles, Hank Williams Sr., Bjork and Aphex Twin. The mixing of styles from electronic to folk to rock results in a totally singular sound. Reminiscent of high drama acts such as Arcade Fire and Sufjan Stevens, this musical collective appeals to both experimental and pop fans who appreciate well-produced material and astounding artistry. Their live show has everyone switching instruments, yelling out into the crowd and to each other, colorful and unusual costumes, three people banging on drums at a time, crawling and pounding on the floor and plenty of other surprises.

***PRESS REVIEWS***
Spin.com
Annuals' "Dry Clothes," the gorgeously sprawling track off debut album Be He Me (out Oct. 17), is a Broken Social Scene-inspired, unwieldy affair. The artsy indie rock collective out of Raleigh, N.C., layer jazzy rock riffs over an array of exotic, lushly fuzzy instrumentation. "The opening verse of the song is from The Sandlot," frontman Adam Baker explains. "I had a huge fear of dogs as a kid and I was sure that fucking dog [from the movie] would be in the other room. That's what the song is about: feeling insane and having insane thoughts."

Pitchfork Media
Ace Fu Records is blowin' up, what with getting their claws into Man Man, blog faves DeVotchka, and Books-alikes Tunng. But if their forthcoming Be He Me album lives up to what this track promises, North Carolina-based Annuals might be the label's best find yet. Like some fantasy hybrid of Animal Collective, the Arcade Fire, and Broken Social Scene, "Brother" opens on a whisper before exploding at the halfpoint with colossal percussion, twisting guitars, feather-fall violins, and exultant, emphatic shouts that puncture the mix like they're trying to break in from another dimension.

We first heard this track on the band's MySpace last week and scrambled to make it one of the first entries in the Infinite Mixtape series, but the label was waiting on the mastered version. Well, today we've finally got it, and you lucky bastards are the first to hear it. Get familiar now-- we could be writing about these dudes all year long.

***NEWS***
Annuals on Insound.com Annuals has already broken into the Insound.com Top 100 sellers debuting at #41, one spot ahead of Bright Eyes! They are also on the iTunes "Indie Spotlight" today so check em out!

***LINKS***
myspace.com/annuals (myspace)
ace fu (record label)

***TOUR DATES***
• 12/2 Tucson, AZ @ Rialto Theatre
• 12/3 Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad
• 12/4 Flagstaff, AZ @ Orpheum Theatre
• 12/5 Tempe, AZ @ The Clubhouse
• 12/7 San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill
• 12/9 Seattle, WA @ Neumos Crystal Reading Room